Dictionary

bri•gade

—n.1. a military unit having its own headquarters and consisting of two or more regiments, squadrons, groups, or battalions.
2. a large body of troops.
3. a group of individuals organized for a particular purpose: a fire brigade; a rescue brigade.4. See bucket brigade.5. Hist.a convoy of canoes, sleds, wagons, or pack animals, esp. as used to supply trappers in the 18th- and 19th-century Canadian and U.S. fur trade.